Recently, a shift from inpatient to outpatient surgery in the United States for commonly performed urologic procedures has coincided with increasing deaths, according to a study published in BJU International.
Researchers analyzed the discharge records of patients undergoing urologic surgery in the United States between 1998 and 2010. The team found that an estimated 7.72 million urologic surgeries requiring hospitalization were performed during that time.
The study found admissions for urologic surgery decreased 0.63 percent per year. The odds of dying after urologic surgery, which included complications that were potentially recognizable or preventable, increased 1.5 percent every year. Older, sicker and minority patients, as well as those with public insurance, were more likely to die as a result of a potentially preventable death.
"Consequently, urological surgeons and ancillary staff members need to recognize that the contemporary cohort of urology inpatients is generally at higher risk of complications and consequently failure to rescue mortality," said Jesse Sammon, DO, of Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System, a study author.
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